If I wanted to get into Quilting, how do I do it?

[mloo]

Any guidance for an aspirational quilter? I am interested in making throws or bedspreads, I suppose, rather than cushions (?other), and I am a slacker relaxed about taking decades to ever produce anything very nice.

I currently have the skills to hem trousers or sew a button back on ... by hand. I don't truly know how to use a sewing machine or use a pattern to properly make something.

I'd be happy to attend classes on quilting... but where do I start? A basic sewing class? Are there different levels in sewing (is there such a thing as grades? ). Would I need a sewing machine right away if I joined a sewing class? Do sewing and quilting ruin your eyesight?

Id start with a basic sewing class.

Ask on freecycle for an old sewing machine - you really only need a straight stitch for basic quilting. You can often find cheapo sewing machines at Lidl and Aldi.

There are many many sewing videos on youtube that will get you started with the basics

Find some old fabric (cotton and polycotton is best for beginners)and just practice sewing bits together until you are confident. Old duvet covers and sheets are good for playing on. Also, go to a fabric shop and have a rummage through their remnants.

sewing and quilting will not ruin your eyesight if you sew in a well lit room! However, the sewing bug often hits a woman at about the same time as eyesight naturally starts to deteriorate.

Once you have mastered basic sewing, start with a simple patch quilt - a collection of squares sewn together. See how you get on.

Go to the library and get some quilting books out - most will have some basic infor in.

Also, try www.ohfransson.com/oh_fransson/quilt-tutorials-.html

I love this ladies site and she makes it all look very easy!

Go into your local quilting shop and ask if they do classes or have any basic patterns for sale.

There are some great cheats for beginners which are very easy to sew and look really attractive.

I sew, patchwork & quilt stuff and have perfect eye sight. But, then I don't do it by candle light or in the dark!

Also, lots of adult education places now have patchwork/quilting classes.

I got a ton of fabric on free cycle last year too.

And shongolo definately gave you a good tip about Lidl/Aldi having cheap sewing machines. You can sometimes get them for £40 ish. Well worth it. Don't do the patchwork by hand, you'll go mad! (I can't even do the quilting by hand as I find it takes far too long)

Look up Strip piecing on google. Its a much faster, easier and effective way of doing patchwork than sewing the separate squares together.
And a good way for a beginner to start.

Ooh, maybe I will take the plunge.
Thanks for links.
Luckily I have a very sentimental DD who would treasure any piece of tat anything I might manage to produce.
Local quilting shop?? I sometimes wonder what sort of places you all live in! :) We have an arts+crafts shop locally, though, they should have leads.

I started with a basic patchwork course which was run by the local school. Have a look at the adult education class. The first course I did was all hand sewing. You could have used a sewing machine but I didn't. It is easier to do anywhere because you aren't tied to a machine so don't let the lack of machine put you off.

You often don't need a pattern as such - it isn't like dress making. What you could do is get a load of fabric squares from ebay and just sewing them together until they are the size your require. No fancy design necessary. There are however, dozens of great books with loads of ideas in them.

Do you have a fabric shop locally? Doesn't have to be a specialist patchwork shop. They might have leads too.

Whatever fabric you chose (patchwork fabric is traditionally 100% cotton) make sure that it is of the same weight and content. It makes it much easier to handle for a beginner.

Have fun!

How do you get all the stitched together bits of fabric into a nice square or oblong shape?

Ta 4 tips. :)

You have to measure the fabric carefully and then sew everything with 1/4" seam allowance and it should come out square. If you want to invest in some equipment the most useful to help with this is a rotary cutter, a self healing mat and a quilter's ruler. They aren't vital but they do help alot. I find it easier to get straight edges with handsewing because you can go slowly and be more accurate but I don't have a lot of practice with a sewing machine.

1/4" are easy if you get a 1/4 ruller and draw the line on the fabric if you are hand sewing or you can get a 1/4 foot for a machine.

As I say, if you want to avoid cutting the fabric yourself, at least to begin with, you can buy squares of various sizes from ebay which you can just sew together. They are usually accurately cut. This is an example of one ebay store who specialises in squares.

Measure twice and cut once!

I definitely need to take a proper class, but at least it sounds within the realms of the humanly possible. :)

I did a beginners class at a quilting shop, even though I had already made a quilt from tutorials that I found on the web.

The most important thing i learnt was how to rotary cut properly, rather than the "making-up-as-I-go-method" that I had been using. And I picked up quite a few tips, like what to do when your blocks end up not quite the same size.

We were also taught to strip piece - so quick & easy!

I have this fab book which is excellent for beginners despite it's title. Karin Hellaby Book

It explains rotary cutting, quick ways to piece the blocks and how to finish your quilt.

mloo - whereabouts are you? If you are in Herts I have a friend that has just started running a beginers quilting class.

My fave quilting blog - lots of tutorials on here

Also this one for strip piecing

more of my faves

and here

I echo what others have said about trying to find a class, and also buying precut squares for you first go, etc. But I am personally a hand sewer- takes longer, yes, but I just prefer it. I piece (sew the bits together) and then quilt (sew the three layers of materials, the sandwich of top fabrics, middle wadding/batting, and the backing fabric) by hand as well.

I have a stack of ancient 1970s books from my grandmother, but a recent, very helpful purchase has been this book, it contains descriptions, photos and very clear drawings of how to quilt, it's fab. It's good to have a basic level of understanding, to prevent too much frustration and unpicking, but I highly recommend just going for it as well! Enjoy- it is so satisfying to design, create and finish a piece of your own work and put it against the back of the sofa and admire it!

Do you have a branch of the Quilters' Guild near you? They might be able to help out beginners. They certainly have talks and presentations in our local branch so you would pick up tips that way.

Quilters' Guild here

does anybody know how to find out if aldi/lidl have any sewing machines in stock? They are all quite a long way from me to go on spec - i can't work out their websites!
thanks

could you simply ring the branch up? Mind you, being Aldi/Lidl they might well refuse to send an assistant to check for you....

I have caught the quilting bug too. When you have cut out all your shapes lay them down on the floor and take a photograph of the pattern to refer to when you are sewing them all together. The best thing I have purchased is a walking foot for my sewing machine which stops the fabric from slipping as it goes under the presser foot (about £35). The other gadget I use a lot is a bias binding maker (about a fiver). A rotary cutter is next on my list.

Get fabric on eBay or search out boot fairs, charity shops and jumble sales. Always go for 100 per cent cotton and for the filling I like to use wool, bamboo or cotton. See The Cotton Patch website for mailorder supplies.

Baffled old Mumsie has managed to do a proper link at last!

Oh yes, I love Cotton Patch! They are the best for books and equipment as well as fabric imo.

The other one that is great for charm packs and fabric is- Strawberry Fayre You can buy a sample pack of all their fabrics (about 400 different ones) for £3.90 so you can chose at leisure and not have to peer at a computer screen for hours.

How about going to a quilt show? There are lots of little ones all over the country but also the big ones like Sandown Park in June, Birmingham and Malvern. There is also The Knitting and Stitching Show at Alexandra Palace this weekend which has a lot of quilting and patchwork stuff and quite possibly some classes.